Varaha Purana 163.21: Adhyaya 163, Shloka 21
The Greatness of Kapila-Varāha: The Efficacy of Vaikuṇṭha Tīrtha and the Installation History of the Varāha Image
Pūrva Bhāga · Mathurā Māhātmya (Sacred Geography and Liberation Topography)
तस्य तुष्टेन हि मया प्रतिमेयं समर्पिता ॥ तेनैयं पूजिता नित्यमात्ममुक्तिमभीप्सता
tasya tuṣṭena hi mayā pratimeyaṁ samarpitā || teneyaṁ pūjitā nityam ātmamuktim abhīpsatā
tasya tuShTena hi mayA pratimeyaM samarpitA || teneyaM pUjitA nityamAtmamuktimabhIpsatA
मैं उस राजा से खुश था। इसलिए मैंने यह मूर्ति उसे दे दी। वो मुक्त चाहता था। इसलिए वो रोज इसकी पूजा करता था।
Sandhi Notes
- pratimeyaṁ = pratimā iyam
- teneyaṁ = tena iyam
- ātmamuktim = ātma-muktim
Varāha
Curious; attentive to ritual lineage and means to liberation
What is the origin and purpose of the sacred image, and how does continuous worship oriented to mokṣa function?
Right intention (mokṣa-abhilāṣa) plus steady practice (nitya-pūjā) transforms devotion into liberation-oriented discipline.
Adopt consistent daily worship/meditation with explicit inner aim of self-purification and freedom, not merely worldly gain.
The bestowed pratimā functions as a tangible locus for the Lord’s grace—icon as ‘condensed presence’ enabling sādhana when the mind is devotionally aligned.
Implicit yajña-logic: offering (arcana) to the image as regulated sacrifice in miniature.
Supports saguna-upāsanā as a means to antaḥkaraṇa-śuddhi and eventual mokṣa; the ‘image’ mediates concentration (ekāgratā) toward the Absolute.
Receiving a divine gift (pratimā) should be met with disciplined, continual worship performed with liberation-intent (ātma-mukti-abhīpsā).
Steady worship with right intent conduces to purification and liberation; neglect or merely transactional worship yields diminished spiritual fruit.
Implicit Vaiṣṇava icon-worship culture that later flourishes in Mathurā
Varāha Purāṇa 163.24 (image established in Mathurā); Varāha Purāṇa 163.26 (mental image + daily worship by Kapila)
FAQs
It provides a charter-like narrative for an image-cult: divine approval, installation, and continuous worship, a common Purāṇic strategy for legitimizing heritage practices.
The place remains within the Mathurā setting; this verse emphasizes the transmission and worship of an image rather than naming a new site.
Consistency and intention: sustained practice (nityam) aligned with self-transformation (ātma-mukti) is foregrounded.
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